Kompany bullish on title defence ahead of Toon test

It remains to be seen whether he’ll be ready to play on Sunday but the club captain has delivered a bald message to City’s title rivals.

World Cup-contesting latecomers to pre-season may have disrupted Manuel Pellegrini’s preparations for the new campaign but Vincent Kompany believes that the Barclays Premier League champions have learned lessons from their last title defence season.

In 2012/13, City were unable to recapture their crown after the highs of the previous season but the 28-year old is reassured by the mentality he’s found on his return to the dressing room after his summer break.

It’s all boding well for the trip to Tyneside on Sunday afternoon, according to the Belgian skipper.

“I can tell you that mentally we are roaring for the new season,” he said.

“All of us are ready. We are hungry for competition. Physically, there is a question mark. We [the World Cup players] have not had a single minute in a friendly. We are just training.

“Really our fitness will be put to the test in the Newcastle game - if we get through this what a great message it will be to the rest of the league of our resilience to continue on what we built last year.

“When it comes to retaining it, partially it’s a mental thing but at the same time you get experience and you learn."

...Vincent Kompany...

“In this case I feel there are a lot of red flags, alarm signals from last time, we have to be really careful not to fall into complacency. I’m pretty confident that’s not going to happen and, at the same time, you have to look forward and not so much back.

"Last time everything was new, whereas this time we know what to look out for and what not to do but also we know what to do so it increases our confidence.

“At the same time it's the Premier League and the reason why everybody watches it is because they know it is impossible for us to say we are going to win it because there are five or six teams who should have that intention.”

One thing is for sure, City’s credentials will be put through a thorough examination right from the get-go.

The champions’ first five games are against teams who finished in the top ten last season and they meet their fellow UEFA Champions League qualifiers in their opening four games.

Their captain has enjoyed positive first impressions on the new boys and believes that they all have something to contribute over the next ten months.

He’s also excited by the contract renewals of some of his fellow key players, which have been announced throughout a great summer for supporters.

“I was surprised with the athleticism of Frank Lampard at his age,” added the Belgian. “He looks to me like he’s in his best form - he’s unbelievable in training.

“The new players look like they are ready for the challenge and are ambitious to win things and that’s what we need."

...Vincent Kompany...

“Our goal is to win the Premier League again. We’ve worked really hard to get to this level, so we’re going to make sure we maintain that. We want to keep the badge on the side of our shirts for a bit longer.